NAACP leaders say Bush's plan for Social Security would hurt blacks most

"This proposal is extremely dangerous to us," said Hilary O. Shelton, the NAACP's Washington bureau chief.
Among married couples, twice as many blacks as whites rely on Social Security for their entire retirement income, and blacks in their 50s are twice as likely to become disabled as whites, he said.
But Bush says blacks would stand to benefit from his privatization plan because, on average, they die earlier than whites and would not have to wait until retirement to receive benefits.
That argument has rankled many black leaders who denounced the president for trying to capitalize on the life-expectancy problem _ one they say is rooted in health disparities and urban violence _ rather than solve it.